


Gift

by TomatoBookworm



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Suicide Attempt, trigger warning: suicide attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:53:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/pseuds/TomatoBookworm
Summary: Kora laughed, a hollow sound to her own ears, “Gift? I used to think it’s a gift too. Now look at me. I burned someone on my way out, Gordon. What kind of gift is that?”
Relationships: Kora (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) & Gordon (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Gift

**Author's Note:**

> \- Rated M for subject matter, suicide attempt. Please turn back if this is a trigger for you.
> 
> \- This is an alternate universe where there’s no time traveling SHIELD team, Chronicoms, or evil Nathaniel running around. Just a What-If with someone getting to Kora first in the original timeline. AKA Tomato needs a canon-adjacent timeline where Jiaying, Kora, and Daisy all live happily ever after.

Kora’s hands were shaking when she saw the air shimmer. Gordon stepped out towards her. 

“Get back!” Kora yelled. Gordon could sense objects when he teleported, enough not to bump into her or anything else, but he couldn’t see the gun in her hands. “Don’t try to grab me. I have a gun, and I don’t want to shoot you by accident.”

“Then who are you planning to shoot?” Gordon paled. “Kora, no!”

“I have to.” If only she could keep her hands still long enough to do it. “It’s the only way. I will burn down this whole place otherwise.”

“No it’s not.” Gordon reached his hands out to her. “You just need a little more time with your gift. You will figure it out.”

Kora laughed, a hollow sound to her own ears, “Gift? I used to think it’s a gift too. Now look at me. I burned someone on my way out, Gordon. What kind of gift is that?”

“I can’t look at you.” That brought Kora up short. “But I remember. Your face was the last thing I saw before we stepped into the Mist. We were both smiling then.”

She let out a sob. The number of known Inhuman families was never large to begin with, and the selection process for Terrigenesis was strict. Kora and Gordon were the only two chosen for the transformation this year. They were casual friends before, but they’ve talked excitedly for months about going through the ceremony at the same time. How young and naive they were back then. 

“I’ve thought about ending things too,” Gordon said softly. “When it was impossible even to cry. Your mother helped me. Give it time, Kora. You will find your way.”

“She didn’t help me,” Kora swallowed, even though she really wanted to shout. “I was scared, alone, and she never came inside. She and Yat-Sen just stayed across the window and talked _to_ me through the glass. My mother. She went to you instead.”

“Because she’s afraid.”

Gordon actually said it out loud. The truth was already there, in the back of her mind, but she didn't want to admit it. Her own mother was afraid of her. The only family she had ever known. Gordon continued on. 

“We all know the reason why Jiaying is the best Transitioner in Afterlife. Yes she’s wise, kind, a living memory of our history, and she can also subdue any Inhuman with a touch.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“When I was stumbling in that room, Jiaying told me I won’t hurt her,” Gordon said. “I hugged another person for the first time after losing my eyes, and I didn’t have to worry about crashing into anyone. She would drain me at the first sign of trouble.” He stated it as a matter of fact, even though everyone knew how much her mother hated using those powers. “I was safe with Jiaying because she would keep others safe from me.” He paused. “But she could never do the same to you.”

Oh. 

“Because she’s afraid. Of hurting me.” 

“Yes.”

“She always said I am her greatest gift,” Kora remembered. “More so than her powers. She won’t use them on me.”

“No,” Gordon agreed. “And without Jiaying, no one else in the compound can take you down if you go rogue. That’s why the Elders are pressuring her so much to bring you under control. For the first time in decades, we don’t have a backup plan for a bad transformation.” 

Kora glanced at her own fingers on the handle, “And you are still telling me I shouldn’t use the gun?” 

“How do you think Jiaying would feel if you’re dead?” Gordon asked. “A guide and mentor to all the Inhumans, and she couldn’t help her own daughter through Terrigenesis. She would have failed you. Would she even stay in Afterlife if you’re gone?” 

“I don’t want to hurt her!” Kora shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Believe me, your death would hurt more than any physical damage. For Jiaying. For everyone.”

Her grip loosened, “What if I never learn to control my powers?”

“You don’t have to use them, just accept them as a part of you.” Gordon pointed at his own face. “It took me a long time to get used to this too. Our powers, they’re different from what we imagined as kids, but then, we’ve grown up.”

Kora exhaled and let go of the gun, “One more chance.”

Footsteps and shouts sounded in the distance. Her mother’s voice was the most prominent. For the first time since her transformation, Kora didn’t hear fear inside, instead she heard love. 

“It will be alright,” Gordon reassured her. “We will explain what happened and the Elders can’t get too mad. Your mother will be glad enough to see you alive.”

“I know,” Kora said. “I am her greatest gift, just like she is mine.” She looked at her own hands, pale and empty and capable of so much destruction, but she wasn’t desperate to cling to something anymore. She already had what she was looking for. “We are a family.” 

**Author's Note:**

> \- There may be future snippets in this universe with Kora dealing with her powers, living with a new stepfather and adorable baby sister, and beating up Hydra minions who *tried* to kidnap her mother and sister. The mood and tone on those scenes would be too different from this one though, so they would likely be posted as separate chapters or ficlets in a series.


End file.
